Chapter 70: The Underestimated 'Tiger'

  That German soldier who was like a god of war surprisingly only suffered minor injuries. In the end, he actually survived. Later on, when someone asked him about his previous profession, he said "I used to be a gymnast, I got kicked out of the team for fighting back then, but after joining the army, I didn't give up my old skills and kept training. It was all so that I could return to the gymnastics team after retiring from the military."

  These German troops, under the command of that major battalion commander, did not retreat because the radio station had been destroyed along with the command post, and without a withdrawal order, these German soldiers could not and would not retreat.

  They gathered the bodies of their comrades together, collected the remaining usable ammunition, and then squatted in the foxhole to continue defending.

  Who would have thought that these battered troops did not withdraw from the defense line, and ultimately led to the demise of the British Seventh Armored Division. However, this is a later story, and for now, let's not mention it.

  The British 7th Armoured Division paid a considerable price to break through the German-held area, which was defended by only two battalions. To be honest, 'Bryant' did not expect the German resistance to be so strong and brave, causing such heavy losses. Nearly one-seventh of the tanks were destroyed, twice the highest loss he had calculated.

  There were also the 2,000 British infantrymen who had been knocked out, and the Seventh Armoured Division now had fewer than 7,000 armoured infantrymen in all. This loss of nearly a third of them would not be so bad if they did not encounter another two German ambushes on the same scale. Without infantry cover, it was simply impossible to capture Tobruk with tanks alone.

  Brian's heart was not only slightly nervous, but also slightly regretful of this adventurous action, wondering why he didn't wait for the infantry behind to act together. However, this slight feeling of regret was soon replaced by the excitement of the huge gains that were about to be obtained.

  The defensive line of the 90th Light Infantry Division was situated between two small mountain ranges, which were the only two roads from Egypt into Libya. Beyond these small mountain ranges lay Libyan territory, and between Libya and Egypt there were hardly any more defensible positions besides this range.

  Although there is only a flat area of less than 5 kilometers between the two mountain ranges that can allow wheeled vehicles to pass through, a defensive line of 5 kilometers is far from enough for the defense of two infantry regiments. Especially when facing the British Seventh Armored Division, which is the elite among the elites. Even if it were an ordinary British armored division, these two German infantry regiments might not be able to withstand its fierce attack.

  The British tanks soon drove to the rear of the German artillery positions, and the German gunners saw the British tanks coming from afar. They didn't hesitate at all, dropped their guns and ran away with their heads down. Of course, no one would punish them for this. How could they expect these artillerymen, who didn't even have infantry weapons, to engage in close combat with the British tanks? It was simply sending them to their deaths. And this escape was not pursued by anyone either. Yes, if your infantry can't stop the enemy, how can your artillery possibly hold them back? Although the bayonets on the cannons were very menacing, that depended on whether the enemy gave you the opportunity for close-range shooting. Moreover, the German positions only had 105mm howitzers, which couldn't be used for direct fire like the 88mm guns.

  The British tank commanders had no interest in the fleeing German artillerymen. However, the German 105mm howitzers were a different story. The British tanks stopped and took aim at the 24 poor howitzers. Continuous firing hit the howitzer positions, with some tanks firing armor-piercing shells. The 24 howitzers were directly destroyed. The originally good-looking German 105mm howitzers were now scrap metal that met the standard for being sent back to the steel mill for recycling. Of course, no one would take these scraps thousands of kilometers away to a steel mill for recycling; the gasoline needed to transport this junk was enough to build new cannons.

  It took almost 10 minutes for the British tanks to be satisfied, and they all started on the road again. However, General 'Brian' was frowning. But he couldn't say anything, after all, it's better than leaving them to the Germans. Besides, 'Brian' wasn't the kind of person who liked to complain about everything, so he let his subordinates continue to attack these unmanned guns, which were left behind for the Germans.

  The British then galloped forward from the defensive line of the German 90th Infantry Division, and the mountains on both sides were getting lower and lower. The distant mountains could already be seen in the telescope to have reached the end. As long as they reached the outside of the mountain range, the Seventh Armored Division would truly become a dragon entering the sea, relying on the durability of the Sherman M4 tank and several bases of fuel replenishment. Even if the Germans ran to death, they could not catch up with the Seventh Armored Division. At that time, the British Seventh Armored Division had really become a fast-moving unit like a divine dragon, fighting wherever it wanted.

  But all this is related to the air forces of Britain and Germany due to a large-scale aerial battle two days ago. The air forces of both countries suffered heavy losses in this aerial battle, and the physical strength of all pilots was severely depleted. Originally thought that resting for two or three days would be fine, but who knew it had already been three days. These pilots still can't fly planes. It can be seen how crazy these pilots were at the time. British pilots are like this, and German and Italian pilots are also like this.

  Brian was in the command vehicle, chatting idly with his chief of staff, but his mind was focused on the position of the vanguard. He kept shouting to himself "Faster, faster! We must break through this mountain range. As long as we break through this mountain range, my plan will be half successful..."

  Things often go against one's wishes, and just as 'Brien' was wondering what kind of noble title he would get in the future. A armored force appeared at the front mountain pass of the British army, this armored force had just turned out from behind the northern mountains, due to the shelter of the mountains, this force seemed to have suddenly appeared in front of the British Seventh Armored Division.

  Brian was then scared to the point of urinating in his pants by this sudden appearance of an armored unit, and of course it also made Brian very suspicious. He thought "How could German tanks appear here? Is this a trap set up by the Germans for me? But judging from the intensity of the resistance at the German position just now, it doesn't seem like it either. Who would separate infantry and tanks when defending? It's just infantry blocking tanks."

  With a puzzled expression, Brian carefully observed the German armored unit in front of him through the long-distance gun sight on his command vehicle. Brian saw that the tanks of this armored unit looked very much like the German Panzer IV, but slightly different from the Panzer IV. From a distance, Brian saw that the turrets of these tanks were all rectangular in shape, with an appearance very similar to that of the Panzer IV. However, he did not see clearly that the gun barrels of those tanks had a caliber of 88 mm, which was also one of the reasons why it was difficult to see from a distance. As a result, the "Tiger" was mistaken for a Panzer IV by Brian.

  Brian felt a little relieved when he saw this. The German No. 4 tank had not been in short supply of battles with the British Seventh Armored Division, and each time it was basically the British Seventh Armored Division that achieved a great victory. A Sherman M4 could easily destroy a No. 4 tank, and basically the German No. 4 tanks retreated when they saw the British Sherman M4s.

  There's no way the No. 4 tank can compare with the Sherman M4. The thickest armor on the No. 4 tank is only 80mm, which is the thickness of the frontal turret armor plate. In contrast, although the Sherman M4 has a frontal armor thickness of only *mm, its 47-degree angle of inclination gives these steel plates an effective protective thickness of over 90mm, making it a very advanced design.

  In terms of weight, the Panzer IV was no match for the Sherman M4. The Panzer IV weighed only 23 tons, making it a lightweight contender in the medium tank category. In contrast, the Sherman M4 weighed over 33 tons, nearly 10 tons heavier than the German Panzer IV. This extra weight was devoted to thicker armor and a longer gun barrel, making the Sherman M4 a heavyweight contender in the medium tank class. Of course, compared to the German Panther tank's 44-ton weight and over 5-meter-long gun barrel, the Sherman M4 was still no match.

  Faced with the advantages of the No. 4 tank, the British tankers driving the Sherman M4 tank had a great advantage in their hearts. Generally, the Sherman M4 tank would not have any problems even if it was hit by several shots from the No. 4 tank after its armor was penetrated, while the No. 4 tank would be severely damaged or destroyed with just one shot from the Sherman M4 tank.

  At this time, the tankers of the British Seventh Armored Division also regarded the "Tiger" tank as a Type IV tank like their commanders. One by one, they were excited like flies seeing fat meat. However, they still endured and waited for their commander 'Brian' to issue an attack order.

  Brian took a closer look at this German armored unit, and the tanks driven by this German tank unit were all black, different from the yellowish-brown color of the North African German tanks in the past. It can be seen that these tanks have just arrived in North Africa, and the Germans have not had time to apply a protective coating similar to the desert's yellowish-brown color to these tanks. Brian couldn't help but put down more than half of his mind, thinking that it might be the German tanks that were newly assembled from home and opened towards the front line from here. It was not a special ambush by the Germans to lay an ambush here.

  Taking a closer look at the scale of this German armored unit, 'Bryan' found that there were not many tanks in this German armored unit, only 40. This made 'Bryan' even more calm, and compared to his own 250 Sherman M4s, these 40 German tanks were simply no match. 'Bryan' believed that one of his tank battalions could easily defeat this small German tank detachment.

  'Brian' ordered over the wireless for the armoured brigade to send a battalion of tanks to drive off these German tanks. The main body then continued on its way out of the valley. To 'Brian', as soon as British artillery opened fire, the Germans would run away in a hurry.

  But this time he was wrong.